Before we get into executive producer Jason Rothenberg‘s explanation of the finale, let’s see how everybody left off: Chancellor Jaha sacrificed himself to get the rest of the Ark residents to the ground; Lincoln helped an injured Octavia escape in the heat of battle; Clarke and the remaining survivors, with Anya in tow, were kidnapped by “Mountain Men” and taken to a high-tech, top-secret location; and Finn (possibly) sacrificed himself to save a fellow hundred.

Below, Rothenberg breaks down the finale’s biggest surprises, discusses who did (and didn’t) survive the hour, and offers an early look at the insanity of Season 2.

TVLINE | That was not how I was expecting the finale to end. It’s going to be a completely different show next season.
In many ways, it will be, for sure. Obviously the Ark is on the ground now, for the most part, so we don’t have that to cut back to. But we will have Mount Weather, which will function — certainly aesthetically or energetically — in a similar way. We’ll cut back and forth between the exploding-with-life wilderness to this claustrophobic, airless, dying world inside the mountain. We’re also exploring the world much more completely in Season 2, as opposed to just staying in the perspective of the 100, who know almost nothing about the world. Lincoln and Octavia take us into the Grounder world; Clark, Monty and the other 47 people in the drop ship take us to Mount Weather; and everybody else is trying to find those people.

TVLINE | That would be Abby, Kane and the rest of the Ark residents?
Oh, we’re definitely going to deal with what happens when mom and dad show up at the party.

TVLINE | You left quite a few fates open-ended. Let’s start with an easy one: Jaha has to be dead, right?
[Laughs] No comment. … When we left him in the finale, he was alive. He raised his glass to the people on the ground and said, “Til we meet again.” So we haven’t seen him die, but obviously, his story is over. He’s completed what he thinks is his mission, which was getting the people to the ground. Like Moses, he got his people to the Promised Land, but he’s not allowed to enter the Promised Land, himself. I love that character, and I love Isaiah Washington’s performance, but that’s a story that’s run its course. How would we justify giving him a reason to go on? We’ll see what that is, if it is.

TVLINE | Someone I’m more confident about is Finn. Please give me hope that he survived the blast.
Well, a lot of lives hang in the balance at the end of the episode, obviously. This is a show where life is precious. People die, and violence has real ramifications. I don’t want to speak too much about who lives and who dies until we reveal that next season, other than to say that one of the things I think that works successfully for us is that notion of not knowing how it’s going to end. The shows that I love — Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead in particular — do that very well. Frankly, I don’t think we’ve done enough of it, so maybe things will get worse before they get better.

TVLINE | Is it safe to say these “Mountain Men” will be the new enemies of Season 2?
I think that’s also up for interpretation. One of the things we’ll definitely be explaining is how these worlds, these groups of people, relate to each other. Who’s at war, who has alliances and where do the people from the Ark fit into that? Nobody on this show is evil just for the sake of being evil; they all just have their own security in mind. That’s how you ground things in reality, though I must say the Reapers come close. They have a reason for the way they look and what they do.

TVLINE | We didn’t see too many romantic developments this week. Can we expect more next season?
For me, that’s not what the show’s about, and I don’t think anyone will be surprised to hear me say that. Relationships and romance have their place in this world, but in terms of importance, these characters are much more worried about surviving than who’s sleeping with who. The relationship between Clarke and Raven, in particular, is something I’m proud of because those two women who love the same boy never let that get in the way of what they need to do with and for each other. It wasn’t like a catty, girls-fighting-over-a-guy story. Ever.

Fellow Grounders, what did you think of The 100 finale? Is Finn really dead? What about Chancellor Jaha? Rate the episode below, then drop a comment with your reviews and theories.

Both him and Finn knew that the entrance to the tunnels were right by them, they could have easily hopped in whilst the grounders were trying to claw their way into the dropship. I’m hoping atleast one of the two did anyway

I really hate Bellamy. He is a bad guy and no one seems to mind. He was willing to hang Murphy who was one of his frineds/lackies with no trial and virtually no evidence. I am not trying to defend Murphy , he is an a-hole too. That says something too. You can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep. Bellamy chose the most cruel and ruthles people to help take control of the camp. When the murderer turned out to be somone he liked (Charlotte), he decidees that she shouldnt be hung (even though she and Murphy are both minors). Finally, he banishes Murpy unilaterally without a trial. Then, when he is respobsible for letting 300 people die on the Ark, no one bats and eye. He destroyed the radio and his only defense is, “I helped you find it okay.” It was destroyed and useless but someohow that relieves of responsibility? Shouldn he have been banished like Murphy who was held responsible for a murderer committing suicide? (a much lesser crime)

Bellamy may have done all those things but in the end he regretted it. The first two episodes he was a total a-hole like you said it, but he did so much more than just be bad. If it wasn’t for him everyone would be dead by the end of the first season. He inspired them when no one else would or wanted too. He learnt them to defend themselves and act nice around each other. He felt remorse over killing those people and almost Jaha. He wanted to make an end to his life after Octavia was mad at him. He came down to protect her and in the end saved almost a 100 people! If that isn’t the definition of a hero, a good guy or whatever… Than I don’t know it anymore

Yes yes yes. I love that you live flarke. They are my OTP like no one understands how much i love them. No one
Understands. Except fellow flarke shippers. Thanks for giving me hope. I swear on my life if Finn dies i will die. Not even joking. I have nothing to live for if hes gone.

I don’t like him that much, Finn has a better understanding of what really works, but he’s also kind of a Gandhi, where Bellamy is just “Hey guys lets just make weapons and kill them!” they need to have both really, otherwise who would be the male voice of reason, or of strength if one or the other were dead?

Bellamy is a good guy it’s just he has to be a leader and keep everyone safe and everything Bellamy did was out of good intentions it was for his sister and for the 100 and being a leader is hard so you can judge him and say hi is a bad guy when all he ever did was what he thought was right.

Have to disagree. Bellamy started off as very selfish and never really got any better. Always tried to go against Clarke and was too set on battle battle battle. Should have relinquished more power to Clarke and been just the 2nd in command / defence secretary!!

THANK YOU SOMEONE WHO FINALLY UNDERSTANDS ME. WHY ARE PEOPLE OBSESSED WITH BELLAMY?!?!?!?! LIKE ARE THEY BLIND AND CANT SEE FINN???? FINN IS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE AND AMAZING AND SO GORGEOUS. HE CANT BE DEAD. DO YOU HEAR ME CW?!?! PLEASE DONT MAKE HIM DEAD. PLEASE.

Yeah, I don’t think the writers even HAVE the POWER to kill Bellamy or Finn cause if they did I’m sure views which drop by at least a half maybe even a third of the views. I know I’d find it hard to watch without my favorite character, Bellamy there

think that they will be fitting Bellamy and Finn and like I no that the mountains this way no it’s this way but I think they will find the people from the ark and start to work together they will realize that the important thing right know is to find Clark so they will start to work together they will find put when they find her that they love her the same way so they will go back into fitting mode and maybe get into some fist fits this is what I hope for the love triangle I’d like to see bellark together for a little in the show but I think Clark is end game

I must agree. It’s been a good show, but there was a point I was afraid it didnt settle well and be cancel (gladly the CW probably had too much show cancelled already!). I’m glad the EP says love is not the priority, and that it will be present, but after the main story. I love when a show develop a new mythology and that’s what it is about, what is this world!?
So absolutely splendide finally. I am excited about season 2. I hope it stays the same format of a half-season as it’s better for the development of the main plot instead of having half the episode be about something parallel. I’m a little sad Jaha’s part in this is finish, but it did a great job and I prefer when we leave characters have such an epic path. It’s been GREAT.
I’m soooo happy though that Henry Ian Cusick’s character survived, and so on for Anya. Et puis, Bellamy finally making peace with Lincoln was incredible.

I agree with you about being glad its on CW. This show is great but wouldnt be aloud to continue on any of the other networks. I really hope it sticks around for a while because its very refreshing show unlike many of the others out there and the way they have it set up allows it to have many different story lines because nobody really know how many survivors are truly out there.

Ok, honestly I wanted Finn to die… His charector was just to “good”. I mean it was like he was perfect, and I hated that. But I was really mad about BELAMY!!!! If u read the book u know Belamy and Clarke had a little romance, and I LOVED that. I was hoping they would add in their romance into the show. Because they were so cute together!!!! I really hope Belamy didn’t die! I’m in love with him!!!!!!

Haven’t read the book, but plan on it REAL soon! The way the series was going, I thought Bellamy/Raven and Finn/Clarke pairing would happen when the dust settled. The finale threw all of that up in the air. I expected a cliffhanger but this….well this finale opened up infinite possibilities.

You can’t really say Finn is a good guy because he cheated on his girlfriend by having sex with Clarke and in my definition that is not a nice guy because if you re in a relationship with someone then you should not be cheating on that person.

Well, he thought he would never see Raven again. She was on the ark that was running out of air, while he was on the ground falling for Clarke. But i really think Raven should be with Finn and Clarke be with Bellamy

Ok so listen. You are being utterly
Disrespectful when you are hating on finn. I am in live with finn ok? He IS perfect but that doesnt mean he was too “good” i mean he got with 2 girls at the same time. That exactly isnt “good”. And you never know, he could have done something bad. I love him ok
And if anything bad ever happened to him i would die. Please take your hate somewhere else. I live for finn.

Now i’m curious if jaha will die! Abby was almost guarenteed to be dead when she wound up on that crashed dropped ship so maybe he will somehow live? I agree with a previous comment, I can see bellamy and finn working together to try and find the rest of the 100. That would definitely be an interesting dynamic and it would be nice to see finn in a non-romantic storyline. Overall a great finale, my jaw dropped at the explosion

I hope finn dies his character bores me and clarke and him have like I’m just not into them but clarke and bellamy I mean DAM and they haven’t even hu!!please don’t kill bellamy it would be cool to see him all alone trying to find his way maybe running into Octavia and Lincoln and they try to find the other together I don’t really care about the adults either but maybe I’ll like them when there on the ground

Finn is the worst. Guy is so milquetoast. And every scene he’s in with Clarke is cringe-worthy. I hope Raven lives and she and Clarke both drop that dude hard and get on with the business of being the strong, assertive women they are. Romance is fine (when it makes sense), but there’s no need for stupidboystuff.

Yeah, a guy who finds strong women hot and is comfortable with a woman being the leader without needing to assert his manliness is a real loser. Ooookay. He’s been that kind of guy with both Raven and Clarke and it’s awesome. And knowing when to fight and when to walk away so you can fight another day is a strength not a weakness.
.
I’ve never understood this sudden obsession the 100 (or 82) had with going to war. These kids were likely raised to preserve life at all costs and they would have been taught war is much more costly than they acted like it was. This whole war has felt really inauthentic on both sides for me, though I’ve really enjoyed the show otherwise.

Your right ^^it is weird that their first instinct was to go to war, except that you forget the 100 are all delinquents, that what makes the story plausible. But I agree with you about Finn he doesn’t need to be the star he leaves that to his two leading ladies. And to all those who read the books and hoping it’s going to follow that story line, it won’t it’s not going to end up anything like the book. It will be just like vd where it’s basically a different story with the same character names. Great show though, expecting something amazing for next season!

I think that we will see Finn and Bellamy survive, perhaps captors of the tribe they were at war with, or the Reapers , or even possibly the Mountain Men. This show is truly great for so many reasons! One of the most important is not knowing who will die next regardless of their importance. Having said that and that being true, I still believe that those two will have survived!. it would be nice to see the two of them working together towards the common goal of finding and freeing their fellow convicts { Lets not forget that what little of the ARC, which remains, is on Earth and will undoubtedly come into play!}. Regardless this is one truly amazing, exciting, and above all INTELLIGENT show! I look forward to many more seasons of The 100! And hey aren’t shows or movies based upon books so much better than most of the ones that aren’t, now that technology can finally depict them properly without it having to be a cartoon! Kudos to you Kass Morgan! And to everyone involved in creating this amazing and unique show! Five stars!
Peace and One Love!
RH@

I THINK! That When Finn looked at Clarke it wasnt a goodbye look, it was like “Get in the dropship and ill see you soon, we will be okay” Look. I think Finn grabbed Bellamy and maybe a few others and hid in that car that Finn found in the ground. I read somewhere that there are people who come looking for the members of the 100 who were taken to Mount Weather.. I think Bellamy, Finn and Octavia and a few others come into the quaranteen and maybe get that out. I feel like there is going to be like a HUGE secret amongst Mt Weather and their people.

MY second Thought is that maybe Bellamy and Finn and some others find Clarkes Mum and the adults and start another camp again. That way i think it would be cute for Clarkes mum to get to know Bellamy and Finn. I also think that the people who kidnapped the 100 after the explosion i think that the medicine and stuff that the people of mount weather have i think they will heal Raven. I am so GLAD Montys alive!! Cant wait to see SEason 2!!!! :D x

I hope bellamy didn’t die!! Hope finn did die!!! Finn dying would be great cuz he is loved by a lot of the characters in season 1 so a lot of the character should be affected which would be good! And for clarke and bellamy it would be a slow burn for them! In season 2 it would be amazing! I can not imagine clarke whiteout bellamy which I love cuz since we don’t know if bellamy is alive I hope he is so for season 2 he finds Octavia and Lincoln and those 3 get though and they go to them,mountain men cuz Lincoln knows where they r and the ppl from the drop ship rebiulding cuz they don’t rally no whats going on! I hope bellamy reassures clarke and others and they have a section where they r sad about finn but bellamy and Clark a r a slow burn! Cuz I know they r #endgame

Tiffany I would agree that there is a strong chance that Bellamy and Clarke should get together but I think there is a stronger chance that Raven and Bellamy will hit it off. No, I think Finn and Clarke will cement their relationship once Bellamy, Finn, Lincoln and Octavia reach Abby and rally to free Clarke and the 47.

I loved that ending so much. Seriously, people need to give this show a chance. I am really happy that Octavia and Lincoln were together at the end. I hope they make it to the Sea to Luna. I really want more of their story line. I want more of Lincoln giving us insight into the grounder world as we experience it through Octavia’s eyes.

I believe I saw Bellamy get stabbed. If he didn’t die due to that, he might have died when the rockets blasted, but I still have hope he’s alive. Like Clarke said, Bellamy is looked up to by everyone and they see him as the strong, brave leader. Hopefully he’s still alive. Not only because he’s a leader, because as we saw, leaders die such as the Chancellor, but he’s a crucial character to the story. He does everything he can to protect his sister and also the rest of the people. I also really enjoyed seeing a bit of romance between Clarke and Bellamy. It was really interesting because Finn and Clarke like each other. It would be a nice twist if in the end Clarke and Bellamy were to fall in love, just like the twist with Lincoln and Octavia. Obviously, love is not at all as important as their need to survive, but it’s interesting to see. Season 2 will be great because of all the surprises. The Mountain Men. The adults looking for the 100, well less than 100 now. And we’ll get to see more of the Grounders with Octavia’s story. Can’t wait for Season 2!

Bob, actor who blays Bellamy had a season 2 meeting like a 3/4 weeks ago so I’m 95% sure he’s gonna me ok. When it comes to Finn I have no idea but Eliza and Thomas were promoting the show for the past few days so it’s also a possibility he’s also alright. In my opinion they will be the ones who will save the ‘100’ from that place. Maybe even with the rest of the ark.

Look how technologically advanced they are. The could have monitored the frequencies, have scouts of their own, surveillance cameras, and/or Monty (maybe he wasn’t the only one of the group there). So there are plenty of ways they knew. But, I missed that while watching. Time to watch again!

i must say this show, and the finale, really surprised me. they had some pretty terrible first episodes, but it has evolved into an exciting show that knows how to tell a story. i can’t wait to see what will happen next season. i hope finn and murphy survive, i really like them.

Love this show to pieces! I had to watch it on project free tv because its not out in australia yet but I really cant wait for season 2!
I hope bellumynand flinn are alive and I hope maybe a couple of love stories amist the surviving and bloodshed!

okay i must say that The 100 Finale was so awesome! i don’t think that Finn and Bellamy are dead, because they are, kinda, important characters. And I don’t want them dead! To be honest, I don’t really like Raven, so I wouldn’t care if she dies. As far as Abby and Kane are concerned, I want them together, they are so cute a couple. Clark and Finn should be together, too.

So what is this, like the fourth or fifth time Jaha almost sort of maybe dies? Please quit using this as a plot device it has grown old and I no longer care if he lives or die but pick one and don’t go back to it again.

We didn’t see too many romantic developments this week. Can we expect more next season?
“For me, that’s not what the show’s about, and I don’t think anyone will be surprised to hear me say that. Relationships and romance have their place in this world, but in terms of importance, these characters are much more worried about surviving than who’s sleeping with who.” Yes Jason. You got me with this one.

very interesting and entertaining ending love how u can never predict what happens next.. cant wait till second season, i somehow have this feeling clarks father is still.alive and has something to do with the mountain men, when her dad was about to be floated on the ark abby wispers to him ” theres still earth” and the mountain men knew clarks name, something doesnt add up either way i think clark is going to have a big part with the mountain men, shes going to.be valuable to.everyone.

Uh what about Bellemy? He can’t die! Very Suspenseful ending for season 1 though, I loved it and can’t wait for season 2. But how do the Mountain Men know the 100’s names, because at the bottom of the camera it said C.Griffin. weird.

Wow! what an awesome ending! so many avenues to lead off to. Good to see the remainder of the Ark touch down. Looks like they are going to be the saviors of the 47, bearing in mind there could be a few more that aren’t tagging on who we think are dead? As for Bellamy and Finn? what a cliff hanger! are they dead or alive? wounded certainly but are they dead? I’d like to think that both of them survived the scorching rockets arm in arm dragging themselves away when they see the impending door going up, possibly even rescued by the Mountain Men? Sounds like Mount Weather has state of the art equipment so there is also a chance for Ravens survival too. Jaha? What is his fate? They didn’t write him off and now that he is on his own there will be more air for him to breath! He is still in a functioning communication center which I’m sure does far more than communicate with Earth so he could end up being the “eyes”?!! I wonder how much fuel is left in the Clarkes vessel? can it make one trip to Jaha? could there be a reason they would need to make that trip? All in all can’t wait for season 2, one of the best shows I have seen in a long time.

i think that finn and bellamy will both be alive but only one of them will be brought back to the 100 (hopefully its Bellamy) but the other one will either find the ark or find the 100 later in the season like towards the 3-5 episode.

Bell better be alive! that’s all i gotta say. while watching the last 3 or 4 episodes i kept telling myself “if Bell dies, i’m done with this show, its not worth it” lol. if i get wind that he is dead, i don’t think ill have the strength to watch the show w/o him. … not to sound obsessed or anything. he really does make the show worth it.

It seems natural that someone should want to dominate with all these different groups around. The 100 are really only trying to protect themselves from those who want control, war is a vital part in a great story because with out it there would be nothing to talk about and we’d be right into a soap! It’s natural for people to want a character to be killed off but that same character brings in the numbers, everyone just loves to “hate!” A story is like a game of Tennis and the ball must go back and forth. It would be a mistake for Finn to be killed off as would Bellamy and Raven because all of them play a key part. Now, if they can keep love at it’s door step then people will always be wishing for it to happen. Dabble in emotion a little by showing love in one way or another but don’t ever pass the ring over because that is when the couple have no use. Nor can you do many partner switches because reputation is everything.

I do want Finn Raven and maybe Bellamy to survive but have to say it seemed REALLY unlikely, with that many grounders all over them and then the blast they really didn’t have much of a chance to survive. But this show is already notorious for miraculously keeping people alive when we thought they were dead.
Side Bar, is it really fair to call the show The 100? Every week I am doing the math and wondering how many there are left. 18 dead 82 survived before this episode. The article says there are 49 captured and some left looking for them. Now we have to add the survivors of the Ark. Maybe that will bring the number back up to 100.